Registration is now closed for the upcoming Conference and 4th General Assembly of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, which is only two weeks away. The conference will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 6 to 9, 2023. For those who have already registered, we look forward to having you join us next month!
One week left to register for ICHRP Conference and 4th General Assembly
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) will be holding an in-person conference, including its 4th General Assembly, later this year. The conference will take place from November 6 to 9, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. It will feature guest speakers and workshops on the struggle for human rights in the Philippines, cultural performances, and strategic planning for the future of ICHRP. The conference program will be focused on counter-insurgency, international humanitarian law, and the path towards peace.
In order that we can accurately predict our needs for the conference, registration will end on October 23rd, 2023. After this point, it will no longer be possible to register for the conference. If you intend to join the conference and GA, please ensure that you register using the link below within the next week, before the deadline.
For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.
Register now for Faith Leaders Are Not Terrorists: The Impact of Red-tagging on the Faith Community in the Philippines
When: Oct 12, 2023, at 6am PDT / 9am EDT / 3pm CEST / 9pm PHT.
Topic: Faith Leaders Are Not Terrorists: The Impact of Red-tagging on the Faith Community in the Philippines
Register in advance for this webinar at ichrp.net/Oct12Webinar
Friends in faith,
We are pleased to announce the next event in the calendar of the ICHRP International Interfaith Network, a network of dozens of faith organizations and individuals from around the world who are united in defending human rights in the Philippines.
This upcoming webinar is part of our initiative to expose the impacts of red-tagging on the faith community and the ongoing work of ICHRP. It will feature guest speakers from the Philippines and abroad who will talk about the tactic of red-tagging, its connection to counter-insurgency and international humanitarian law, and its impacts on the faith community in the Philippines and across the world.
As part of the webinar, we will end with a discussion on what you can do in your community to help highlight and help resist the instances of red-tagging on the faith community in the Philippines. We encourage you to register to learn more about how you can take part in this campaign.
International human rights group condemns Philippine police execution of trade union organiser Jude Fernandez
Press Release
October 7, 2023
“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) expresses its anger and condemnation at the Philippine National Police for executing 67-year-old trade union organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez, in Rizal,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy today.
On the afternoon of September 29, 2023, a neighbour heard two gunshots and witnessed police carrying a body out of a house on a stretcher. On October 2, a Rapid Response Team from the Centre for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) was able to locate Fernandez’ body in a funeral parlour at Binangonan, Rizal, and confirm that elements of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) shot him while executing a search warrant. The police claimed “nanlaban” (he resisted) to justify this execution, even though Fernandez was unarmed.
“Nanlaban” has been the routine explanation for over 30,000 police killings in alleged anti-drug operations over the last seven years.
The police have refused so far to release Fernandez’ body to his relatives, saying that there is a PhP2 million (USD35,306) bounty to be claimed for it before it can be released. The existence of a bounty indicates a targeted killing.
Jude Fernandez is the 72nd victim of labor-related killing since July 2016, and the fourth labor leader/organizer assassinated since the International Labour Organisation High Level Tripartite Mission visited the Philippines in January this year. The Marcos government at that meeting reportedly admitted that these political killings had occurred and promised to change its counter-insurgency strategy which defined trade unionism as terrorism. Nothing happened.
“ICHRP calls on the global community to join in condemning the ongoing slaughter of trade unionists and other human rights defenders in the Philippines, to work to end the brazen impunity of the Philippine government armed security forces. The different human rights violations committed against Fernandez; the right to life, the right to organize union and even the refusal to tender his remains clearly portray the anti-people characteristic of the Philippine government’s National Security Plan and a blatant non-respect to its signature to different international covenants and bodies of the United Nations,” said Murphy.
Relatives, CTUHR personnel, and different workers organizations have maintained a vigil over the body for the last two nights and days.
Jude Fernandez began organizing trade unions during the Marcos dictatorship and was a much-respected veteran organizer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU- May First Movement) Labor Center.
KMU likens this to the brutal killings of union leaders Dandy Miguel and Manny Asuncion in March 2021, Asuncion being one of the nine victims slain in the Bloody Sunday massacre.
Binangonan, Rizal province, is the area where Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo De Jesus, two Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders, were forcibly abducted by men who identified as working with the police, on April 28, 2023.
Justice for Jude Fernandez!
Immediate Independent Investigation of the killing of Jude Fernandez!
Abolish NTF-ELCAC and Repeal the Anti-Terrorism Law!
For further comment: Peter Murphy +61 418 312 301 chairperson@ichrp.net
ICHRP supports the Filipino people’s call: Never Again to Martial Law!
ICHRP Statement on the 51st anniversary of Martial Law
September 21, 2023
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) stands with the Filipino people’s continuing struggle for the full recognition and respect for their rights on this 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. We commend the courage, strength and commitment of the Filipino people to defend their rights and for fighting for a just peace and genuine development.
“No amount of historical revisionism and disinformation from the Marcos family and its cronies can erase the memories of the Filipino people and the international community of the horror and terror wrought by dictator Marcos’ martial law. No amount of historical whitewashing can erase the Filipino people’s struggle to bring down the fascist dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. that now continues under the administration of his son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.,” states ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy .
In a recent press conference, two environmental activists who went missing – Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano – declared they had been abducted by the Philippine military and coerced into signing false affidavits while in the military camp. This is in stark contrast to the NTF-ELCAC’s claim that Castro and Tamano had “voluntarily surrendered” to the military and were “safe and sound” under their custody. The active involvement and cooperation of the local government in Castro and Tamano’s case demonstrates the “whole-of-nation” approach of the Philippine government’s so-called counterinsurgency program. This act is reminiscent of the dark days of Martial Law where the dictator, its fascist military and the Philippine Constabulary, together with different government agencies terrorized the populace.
We again remind the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) of its prophetic duty to take good care of the welfare of its flock. It is high time for the CBCP to withdraw from the NTF-ELCAC as a private sector representative and help end the climate of impunity.
ICHRP agrees with and is calling for international support for the Filipino people’s demand to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL), two anti-people legal instruments established under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte but continued and beefed up now under Marcos Jr. It strongly supports the call of the Filipino to not forget the massive repression endured by the majority and to not allow the oppressive acts of Martial Law to remain.
During the most recent Universal Periodic Review on the Philippines the international community denounced the NTF-ELCAC and the practice of systemic red-tagging and terrorist-branding through the ATL by the Philippine government as violations of human rights. “We in ICHRP recognize that red-tagging, enforced disappearances, and the continuing political killings are grave violations against human rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), in that through its so-called counterinsurgency program, the Philippine government targets civilians and non-combatants in the throes of an internationally-recognized civil war,” Murphy continued.
According to Philippine human rights group Karapatan, over 60 extrajudicial killings and 28 frustrated killings have been committed from June 2022 to July 2023 under Marcos Jr. There are also 7,712 documented victims of indiscriminate firings, 6,931 victims of bombings/shelling. In addition, 13,905 became victims of forced evacuations, and 1,582,239 victims were subjected to threat/harassment and intimidation.
“We further call on governments around the world to end their support to the Marcos Jr. administration and to the Philippine military until these egregious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law stop and justice is attained for the victims and their families,” Murphy ended. ###
For comment: Peter Murphy, Chairperson, ICHRP Global Council +61 418 312 301